Tenchi Obsidian
by Ehren Hatten
Summary: Tenchi, Yosho and Kamidake are plagued by dreams of a tree calling out to them to find it. They come to find that it's a very strange girl that has something more about her than just being rather clueless. CHAPTER TWO UP!
1. The Tree

A/N: Yes, I'm a baaaaaaaaaaaad girl…. Heh heh… okay… This is something that has been in the making for about two years, and I think I finally was able to get myself to sit down long enough and come up with how this should go without it turning out TOO corny. Of course, this is Tenchi Muyo/Tenchi Universe…. Everything is corny in that.   
  
Also… this is all meant in fun… I don't have a GOOD idea of how everyone acts, only a fair one. So everything is slightly parodied for the humor. Besides… who says you need to have a correct story! ::cackles::  
  
Tenchi Obsidian  
  
Chapter One  
  
Kamidake awoke with a start. He had been having the same dream over and over for the past two days. A tall royal tree lit with an inner light like the one he was entombed in. It would speak to him, but only a few words. Always the same thing, "Find me…."   
  
He looked around the room he had been given and saw Azaka on the other bed. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked out the window. He could hear the birds chirping, Sasami cooking in the kitchen, Tenchi caught in the middle of an argument between Ryoko and Ayeka. He smirked at the image in his head.  
  
He stood and stretched. He was tall and very lean with a slight musculature to him. He went over to his small bag and got out his clothes. Yosho and Tenchi had given clothes to himself and Azaka. He dressed in silence so he would not wake his fellow knight.  
  
The table was a boisterous as usual. Ayeka and Ryoko fought over the last bit of bacon. Yosho finished the fight by taking it. "Now… doesn't that feel better?" Yosho said with a knowing smile.  
  
Tenchi finished his food and picked up his plate in silence. Washu looked at him deviously. "Tenchi…. Why are you so quiet…"  
  
Tenchi nearly tripped over something when she spoke. "GAH! Huh?"  
  
Everyone was staring now. "I asked if there was something wrong…"  
  
"Uh… not really…" said a slightly nervous Tenchi. He didn't like being put on the spot like this.  
  
Ayeka got up and walked over to Tenchi and smiled. "You look a bit tired… did you not sleep well, Lord Tenchi?"  
  
Tenchi put down his plate and sat on the couch. "As a matter of fact…. No…."  
  
Ryoko appeared over is head and floated in mid air and upside down. "Tenchi…. Why…"  
  
Tenchi sighed. "I.. keep… having this weird dream… there's a tree.."  
  
Kamidake dropped his glass and it crashed on the ground. Yosho was similarly stunned. Everyone turned on Kamidake including Azaka. "Kamidake…. What is wrong?"  
  
"A tree which speaks to you… it tells you to find it?" Kamidake looked scared.  
  
"Yeah…"  
  
"Yes…" said Yosho from the table. His face seemed to darken.  
  
"Grandpa..?" Tenchi was stunned.  
  
"It speaks with a woman's voice…" Kamidake sat down and looked at everyone assembled.  
  
Yosho and Tenchi nodded. "But what does it mean?" asked Tenchi.  
  
Washuu decided to pop out of her laboratory door. "It means that you three have a tree to find!" she said gleefully. "Hey that kinda rhymed!"  
  
"Washuu…. " groaned Tenchi.  
  
"Lady Washuu… how do we find this tree?" asked Azaka.  
  
"You don't know? Well… there's nothing I can do then! Bye!" beamed Wahsuu as her head popped out of existence.  
  
"Wahuu!" cried Tenchi. "You know something don't you!"  
  
"Little old me? Call me…." Then, there was a dramatic pause. "LITTLE WASHUU!"  
  
Tenchi sighed and resigned to his fate. "Please…. Little Wahuu…. Please tell us what you know…"  
  
Washuu's red hair poked out from the ceiling from a trapdoor that she set up herself. "That's better!" She said. Then, she dropped down into a chair underneath her.   
  
"All I have to do is put you three under and I can hook you up to my brand new…." There was another dramatic pause. "DREAM MASTER TWO THOUSAND!"  
  
After Washuu had dragged them into her laboratory, Tenchi was really beginning to question his sanity in letting her. Kamidake was on his left and Yosho was on his right.  
  
Everyone looked on in anticipation. Ayeka and Ryoko had stopped quibbling as they watched their dear Tenchi tied up to Washuu's massive machine.  
  
Azaka kept a comforting hand on Sasami's shoulder as they both watched on. Mihoshi and Kyone stood beside one another as they waited for the thing to turn on.  
  
"Now… I must put all three of you to sleep for it to work… I don't want you to worry if you stay awake…" Washuu beamed.  
  
"Not to worry!" Tenchi started, but was hit on the head with a rather large mallet. Washuu smiled at Yosho and Kamidake.   
  
"Are you two ready to be asleep?" she smiled cheerfully.  
  
Kamidake gulped and Yosho gave a nervous grin. She hit them both with the mallet and they were fast asleep.  
  
She walked over to her post and made her computer appear out of nowhere. "Now… let's get this show on the road!"  
  
The machine turned on and the view screen and tracker came on as well. On the screen, was nothing. Ryoko came up behind Washuu with a catty grin. "Your machine isn't working… big surprise…"  
  
Washuu hit Ryoko with her mallet, sending Ryoko into unconsciousness. "That was very rude, Ryoko. It takes a while for someone's dreams to come back, as you should well know!"  
  
Then, she hit a few more buttons on her console and the screen was lit up in a white light. Suddenly, a large tree came into view. It was all green and luscious colors. Then, it went stark white. The wind blew through the branches, making the leaves of the tree rustle softly.   
  
"Nothing too out of the ordinary," Washuu said.   
  
Mihoshi gasped. "Oh, Miss Washuu! What is that?!"  
  
Washuu looked up again. The screen suddenly switched to the trunk of the tree. Half buried in the tree was something that she couldn't discern. That was when the voice came. "Find me…please…"  
  
Then, the tracker made a loud beeping sound. "How unusual. It's not far from Jurai, by the tracker. Coordinates, zero-six-by-ten-by-eighty-two. Sigma sector."  
  
Mihoshi giggled. "Oh! I know that place! I once did a run by that planet!" Then, she became terrified. "It was creeeeeeeepy…"  
  
Ayeka stared at the coordinates. "I know that place as well… it's a place of legend, but I always thought it was just that… a legend."  
  
"Whatever it is… it's practically begging us to look for it! Let's GO!" Ryoko said as she jumped up. She was fired up and ready to fight anything. "Maybe it'll have buried treasure or something!"  
  
Washuu hit Ryoko with her mallet. "Calm down, Ryoko…we need a game plan of getting there and being prepared for what is there."  
  
"It could very well be an enemy trying to distract us into thinking it is a good entity," Azaka said.  
  
"Oh… I hope it's nothing bad…" Sasami muttered as she clung to her sister's dress. She didn't want anyone to get hurt. Her long blue pigtails swished as she looked onto Tenchi. "Is Tenchi going to be all right?"  
  
"Oh… he'll be fine… I've only knocked him out… he should be waking up any moment now." Washuu recorded the coordinates and then unhooked Yosho, Kamidake and Tenchi.  
  
Tenchi sat up and massaged the back of his head where Washuu had hit him. Immediately, Ryoko and Ayeka were at his side trying to help him up. "Lord Tenchi, you should have help when attempting to walk after that blow to the head. You'll trip if you aren't careful!"  
  
"Oh lay off of him, Princess! It's not as though he needs you to be nagging him like that!" Ryoko stuck her tongue out at Ayeka and blew a raspberry. Ayeka growled and stuck her tongue out at Ryoko.  
  
Washuu hit them both on the head with the mallet. "Girls, girls, girls… can't we just… get along? At least until we find out what that tree is…?"  
  
Then, Washuu smiled at Ryo-oki. "Ryo-oki! Transform now! We have a planet to find!"  
  
Ryo-oki, who was situated on the ground in her little child form, stood up and saluted Washuu. "MREOW!" Then, she ran outside and jumped off of a rock and transformed into a great battle ship. Spikes protruded from her body, forming a strange jewel looking ship.  
  
Everyone converged outside, Washuu dragging the bodies of Ayeka and Ryoko with her. "All right! Let's get going! Sasami! Do you have enough supplies?"  
  
Sasami came up with her apron on and her wok and chopsticks in hand. "Yes, Lady Washuu!"  
  
Then, they boarded Ryo-oki and rose up above the clouds. Tenchi looked out the dome, watching the clouds and the Earth disappear. Kamidake came up behind him. "You enjoy watching your planet like this, Lord Tenchi?"  
  
Tenchi looked up. "Huh? Oh… yes…. It sometimes feels so…small when I see it from space."  
  
"As does anyone's home when they leave it," said Azaka.  
  
  
  
A tree stood on a planet far away. It was the only green thing there, the planet being a desert. It survived on sheer will alone with a little water gathered from an underground spring.   
  
It felt something was coming. It knew that something would come to collect what was supposed to remain asleep. It had to protect it from anything that wanted it for its own purposes. It must protect…  
  
  
  
"Ryoko! Where are we now?!"  
  
Ryoko linked with Ryo-oki and listened to the report. "Ryo-oki says we are there now. Zero-six-by-ten-by-eighty-two, Sigma sector."  
  
Tenchi stared out the dome. "I don't see anything, though. I wonder why…" He stared into the empty space where there should have been a planet.  
  
"Ryo-oki! Can you detect any planets nearby!" Ryoko grunted a second later. "Then why in hell didn't you say that in the first place!" she said as she growled at one of the large crystals floating around.  
  
"What? What did Ryo-oki say?" Ayeka said.  
  
"There's a planet right in front of us, but it's hidden."  
  
Ryoko grunted and glared out the dome toward the place that Ryo-oki had said the planet was. "Ryo-oki, get us closer," said Washuu.  
  
Ryo-oki flew closer toward the place that the planet was supposed to be. Nothing happened. Then, suddenly, the space in front of them wavered like water rippling after a stone was thrown in.   
  
Ryoko grabbed the crystals in front of her and drove Ryo-oki into the clouds of the new planet. However, as everyone soon realized, there were barely any clouds in the sky of this new planet.   
  
The further they descended, the closer to land they came, the more the two suns beat down on the dome of Ryo-oki. Tenchi brought his hand up to his face to block out most of it. "Two…suns?"  
  
"This is a desert planet. How can there be a tree here when everything is dead?" asked Azaka.  
  
"That's what I would like to know," Washuu spoke. "The readings I have say there is an underwater spring system, but there is no vegetation whatsoever on this planet. It's all dry on top and water underneath. It doesn't make any sense."  
  
"The legendary desert planet of Sabaku. It was once part of Jurai's kingdom, but it supposedly was left when some disaster made the planet's plant life disappear. The only thing that was left was the water, but without seeds, there can be no life, so it stays sandy. But I thought this place wasn't real!"  
  
Sasami looked at everything, her pink eyes looking saddened by the sight. Tsunami inside of her stirred inside her mind at the lack of life on the planet, or was that not the case. Sasami felt something different from the planet. "I… hear a voice…"  
  
Everyone turned to her. "What, Sasami?" Ayeka prompted.  
  
The voice was soft, like a breeze, singing a song that she did not recognize. "It's… its singing something… I… can't understand it."  
  
"It's in another language, I'll bet." Washuu tapped the controls on her computer. "I am registering some sort of signal coming from that direction." Washuu then pointed to a point on the western horizon.   
  
Something was over there. It rose out of the ground like a mesa, but when they got closer to it, it was a great hole with the leaves of some great tree inside it sticking out into the arid air.   
  
"A…tree?" came the collective sputter from everyone.   
  
The closer they came the more it began looking like a tree inside a great hole. Birds flew around the branches of the tree as a breeze shook the branches.   
  
When they landed and Ryo-oki let them out, Azaka and Kamidake took their staves in hand and looked down into the abyss. "We shall go down and make sure everything is all right," said Azaka.  
  
Kamidake nodded. "Yes, we shall call on you when everything is clear."  
  
Then, they jumped down into the great hole, falling past branches upon branches. "It looks as though it may be several trees in one area," Kamidake said.  
  
Then, they fell past a great trunk. They felt as though they were floating down as they went past slowly down the length of the tree. "It is one very large tree, Kamidake," said Azaka. Then, they landed on a platform before the tree. White light filtered from the hole they just fell through.   
  
Kamidake held his staff aloft, ready for anything. Suddenly, a brilliant white light appeared out of the tree itself. Something came at Kamidake that was small and furry. "GAH!" he cried out as he was pounced on and fell onto the ground.  
  
Above ground, the birds in the branches of the tree suddenly flew up into the air and hovered above the tree, then filtered back into it. "What was that!" cried Mihoshi. She nibbled on her bottom lip in her nervousness.  
  
Tenchi looked down the hole and called out. "AZAKA! KAMIDAKE! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!"  
  
"YES! WE ARE ALL RIGHT, LORD TENCHI!" came Azaka's voice. "COME DOWN HERE! JUMP DOWN LIKE DID!"  
  
Tenchi at first thought that Azaka was joking. Then, he closed his eyes and jumped into the hole. Everyone else followed after him, falling slowly through branches and finally past the very large trunk of a tree. Then, they all landed softly on the platform that Azaka was standing on.  
  
"Where is Kamidake, Azaka?" asked Tenchi.  
  
Azaka pointed toward a lump on the ground that turned out to be clad in white and blue with long dark, red, wavy hair. Kamidake was lying on his back with several furry creatures on top of him. He looked as though he had just been given a fright and was now petting the creatures. "YOU screamed?" said Ayeka incredulously.  
  
Kamidake stood up quickly and dusted himself off. "I was surprised by these wonderful little creatures." Then, he pointed to the creatures. They looked like they were a cross between cats and ferrets, all white with large black eyes. They scurried away quickly and disappeared.  
  
"We saw a great flash of light from the tree before the creatures attacked Kamidake," said Azaka as he walked over toward the edge of the platform.  
  
Suddenly, another flash of white light came from the tree. The water surrounding it rippled violently and strange animals ran away into the darkness behind it.   
  
"Whoooo aaaaaaare youuuuuuuuu…"  
  
It was a woman's voice coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Tenchi gasped. It was the same voice as in the dream. He walked forward. "M-my name is Tenchi Masaki. We came here because you sent us a dream that asked us to find you!"  
  
"You are only one… there should be three….."  
  
Kamidake came forward and stood with his staff at his side. "I am the second. I am Kamidake, a Knight of the Jurai Royal Family."  
  
"Wheeeeeere is theeee thiiiiird?"  
  
"The third is my grandfather, Yosho. He requested to stay home while we came for you." Tenchi looked into the light to try to see what was there. All he could see was the tree.  
  
"Wheeeeeeeeeere is the thiiiiiiird."  
  
"I told you! The third is home. He asked to stay there incase we found something here that we could send home!" Tenchi was getting slightly nervous with it's insistence on asking where his grandfather was.   
  
"Veeeery well….."  
  
Then, a brilliant light came from the tree, brighter than that of before. Everyone had to shield their eyes from it. Something was showing up on the trunk of the tree; something that they could barely see through the brilliant white light. 


	2. Child of Dawn and riceballs

A/N: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ANOTHER CHAPTER! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  
  
PH34R /\/\33333333333!!!!!!1111!!  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Kamidake focused on the tree, leveling his staff, readying himself for any trouble. His comrade, Azaka, beside him was doing similar. The light was so bright that it was hard to see through it.  
  
Then, he saw something. Long dark pink hair flowed down from the trunk. A body showed as though it had been absorbed into the tree. It was a girl, though the hair masked her face, her head bowed down limply. Her breasts were hidden behind the bark of the tree, but her thighs, knees, stomach, head and shoulders showed through.  
  
"Heeeelp..meeee…." came the soft voice again.   
  
Kamidake and Azaka rushed forward. "We'll take care of this Lord Tenchi," Azaka called out as he hopped from one platform to the tree.  
  
Suddenly, the girl's head lifted up, her eyes were closed. She looked to be no more than fifteen. Her pale features seemed even lighter in the bright light that was coming from her. Then, her eyes snapped open.   
  
Kamidake ducked just in time to avoid being thrown by a gale force wind. Azaka was behind him. "Azaka! Kamidake!" cried out Ayeka.  
  
"Kamidake! Go forward if you can! I… can barely hold on to this slick platform!" Azaka called out. It was true. Azaka's hands were sliding on the platform, as though he were trying to hold onto glass.   
  
"Azaka!" Kamidake called back. "Let me help you!"  
  
"Kamidake! Go!"  
  
Kamidake looked toward the tree and the girl once again. Around her, the bark of the tree writhed as though warning him not to come any closer. Her eyes were stark white, nothing slowing in them.   
  
Tenchi watched, torn between wanting to help and wanting to make sure everyone else was safe. He jumped onto the second platform and was promptly blown down next to Azaka.  
  
"Azaka! Grab hold of me! I'll… TRY to get you back over to the other platform!" Tenchi called through the wind.  
  
Azaka grunted and did as he was told. Ryoko appeared out of nowhere and grabbed them, disappearing again and reappearing on the other platform. The wind was surprisingly not as bad on it. Ayeka was shielding herself from it all, but in the end, it was only grass and dirt that she was shielding herself from.   
  
Mihoshi was hiding behind a rock, whimpering. "THAT WIND IS SCAAAAAAARY!" Sasami tried to calm her down, hiding behind the rock as well.   
  
Kamidake took his staff in hand and jumped at the tree trunk. Some how, he had latched onto something and was holding on. The wind was so strong he could barely move with fear that he would be blown away like paper.  
  
"Heeeeeelp…meeeeee…." The voice was everywhere. It came in the wind that threatened to toss him away like nothing.  
  
"I'm TRYING to help you, but you MUST allow me to do so!"  
  
"Heeeelp….meee…."  
  
"PLEASE! I CAN'T PULL YOU AWAY WITHOUT YOUR OWN HELP!"  
  
He suddenly realized that he had his arms wrapped around the girl's shoulders. He was holding her head to his chest as he tried to free her from the tree. He stared down into her young face. Her stark white eyes showed nothing. Her face was completely devoid of emotion.  
  
The tree writhed against his arms. It was more than just a tree. It was a prison. The girl was imprisoned in this tree and he couldn't set her free without tearing her apart to do so.  
  
He gripped his staff and chanted under his breath, keeping his eyes shut against the torrential wind. The staff glowed with power as he chanted. "LET THIS CHILD GO! NOW! BEFORE I RIP YOU APART!"  
  
Suddenly, the wind died away and he fell backward holding onto something tightly. The trunk of the tee still had an imprint of where the girl had been, but it was quickly closing up. He looked onto his chest to see that the girl was asleep and snoring rather loudly. "My, you certainly can sleep, tree-child," he said in an incredulous tone.  
  
Her cheeks and lips had a pink tone to them. Her face no longer looked like what it had. She looked like she was alive now. Her extremely long dark pink hair was all around him.   
  
"Kamidake! Are you all right?" Tenchi ran over on the bridge portion to Kamidake with Azaka behind him.  
  
Kamidake smiled cheerfully, though sweat dripped slight from his forehead. "Yes, my lord, I am… and so is this girl…"  
  
Then, she moved, wrapping her arms around his waist and curling up on him. Tenchi realized one thing. She was completely naked. "Ack! She's naked!"  
  
Kamidake blushed as he realized this himself, his eyes widening. He attempted to free himself from her, but she somehow had a very strong grip. Tenchi took off his coat and put it around the girl. Azaka smiled. "Come, we have accomplished what we set out to do, now we must retreat back to your home, Lord Tenchi."  
  
Tenchi nodded. "That would be a VERY good idea now…"  
  
Kamidake grunted. "A little help here, please?"  
  
Tenchi fought the urge to laugh. The idea of a royal knight of the Jurai court asking for help against a naked girl was a little too funny to him. He attempted to pry the girl's arms off of Kamidake. He too found it difficult. "GAH! I can't.. get.. her.. OFF!"  
  
Ryoko came over hearing this. "May I help, boys?" She reached down and started pulling. Suddenly, Ryoko flew backward. The girl had punched her on the nose. "WHAT… WHAT IS SHE?!"  
  
"A little trouble, Ryoko? OH HO HO HO! I'm sure I could help!" Ayeka did what she did to relax Sasami when she was younger. She rubbed the girl's arms and then tried to pull her away. She too was flung back by a punch to her nose.  
  
She growled as she sat up. "WHAT IN ALL THAT IS SACRED IS SHE?!"  
  
Sasami came over and looked at the girl. There was something familiar about her. Tsunami writhed inside her mind in an amused manner. Sasami walked over to Kamidake and the girl, kneeled down and put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Sasami! Don't!" cried Ayeka as she nursed a bloody nose.  
  
Sasami smiled cheerfully and giggled. "Time to wake up, Choko!"  
  
The girl's head bobbed up, her eyes gazing around blearily, then, she stood up, clutching Tenchi's jacket around her. She smiled at Sasami. "Good morning…" Then, she promptly fell asleep on the ground.   
  
"Well… now we have to get her onto Ryo-oki," said Tenchi as he scratched his head. "I'll take her, I gu—"  
  
"I'll take her aboard, Lord Tenchi," said Azaka. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. Then, he handed his staff to Kamidake, who still looked highly confused.   
  
"Now all we need is a way back up there," Tenchi said as he looked back up to the light coming from the hole.  
  
"I think I can help you with that!"  
  
Washuu was still on the surface, watching them all down in the abyss. "Ryo-oki! Transform!"  
  
Ryo-oki meowed cheerfully at her and jumped into the air. Spikes once again protruded from her body, forming massive crystals. Soon, Ryo-oki the ship was air-born.   
  
Washuu found herself on the bridge. "Ryoko, we can teleport you up here now."  
  
Soon, Tenchi, Mihoshi, Sasami, Ayeka, Ryoko, Kamidake and Azaka, who was holding the girl in his arms, showed up out of thin air onto the bridge of the ship. They rose out of the atmosphere of the planet and watched as it disappeared completely with the same rippling as it had before.  
  
They flew in the direction of Earth. Washuu, meanwhile, found the girl highly interesting. "She is still asleep, even after being asked to wake up!"  
  
The girl was curled up on a bed with Tenchi's jacket still around her. Her long hair was spread out over her and the bed, shimmering slightly in the light. "Who was it you said woke her up, Lady Ayeka?"  
  
"It was Sasami," Ayeka said in an unsure tone. If her sister knew something about this, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Yet, there was this nagging voice in her that told her that she ought to know.  
  
Sasami walked in with rice balls on a tray with a pot of tea. "I brought in some snacks incase anyone was hungry." She smiled cheerfully at them.  
  
"Sasami… what did you say that caused this girl to wake up and let go of Kamidake?" Washuu took a rice ball and a cup of tea that Sasami was pouring for everyone in the room.  
  
"Well… I don't really recall… but I think asked her…to wake up." Sasami looked a bit worried now. "Did I do something wrong?"  
  
Washuu smirked. "No… I'm sure if you had not done something, our dear Kamidake would still be attached to her and scared out of his wits."  
  
Sasami sighed in relief. "That's good then."  
  
"No… what I want to know is what woke her up. Ayeka and Ryoko, even Tenchi tried to wake her up but nothing happened." Washuu sipped her tea and smiled. "Very nice tea, Sasami!"  
  
Sasami smiled. "Thank you!"  
  
"I recall she said something else besides 'please wake up'. It sounded like a name. Cho…cho…choko.. That was it. She called the girl Choko." Ayeka said as she looked down at the girl. "Child of the Dawn."  
  
Sasami gazed down at the girl. She put her hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Time to wake up, Choko!"  
  
The girl known as Choko sat up, the jacket somehow miraculously staying on her shoulders. She gazed around blearily at everyone and yawned. Sasami put a cup of tea under the girl's nose. "Have some tea!"  
  
Choko blinked a couple of times and stared at Sasami. Her eyes were completely blue, even the pupils were blue. "Who…who are you?" she said in a soft voice. "Where am I?"  
  
"You were imprisoned in a tree and we found you and took you from it!" Mihoshi said cheerfully as she walked into the room more. "I smelled food so I came in!"  
  
Sasami smiled and handed her a rice ball. "Go ahead! There is plenty!"  
  
"Food?" came a small voice.  
  
Everyone turned to Choko who was still blinking cluelessly at them all. Washuu's computer appeared out of nowhere above her lap. "Now that she is awake I can do some tests on her! AND when we get home, I can run even more tests!" That old maniacal glint was shining in Washuu's eyes.  
  
"Tests? What are tests?" Choko blinked with her blue on blue eyes at Washuu. She spoke slowly as though she had never really spoken before.  
  
"Give the girl some food! She needs it to drive that empty brain of hers!" Ryoko showed up out of nowhere and shoved a rice ball into the girl's mouth.  
  
Choko tried to scream as the rice ball was stuffed into mouth, but it came out muffled. She immediately punched Ryoko on the nose which sent Ryoko flying into the opposite wall.   
  
Ryoko slid down onto the ground, her nose bleeding. "Owie…."  
  
Choko looked at the rice ball and blinked blankly. Then, she nibbled on it. She took it out her mouth with a hand and blinked at it once more, swallowing the piece she had eaten. Then, she smiled cheerfully. "It's good!"  
  
Sasami came forward with the tea and Choko took it, drinking merrily. "It's good! It's good!"  
  
Sasami and the girl giggled brightly, leaving everyone in the room staring at them oddly. "I wonder why she was locked up in that tree," said Mihoshi, "It would be very scary for ME if I had been her."  
  
Washuu stared at Mihoshi. "Mihoshi, what did you say?"  
  
"Oh! That's right! You weren't down there when this scary wind came up and tried to push poor Azaka and Kamidake away! Then, Kamidake got her out of the tree and the wind stopped!" Then, Mihoshi giggled and chomped onto a rice ball.   
  
"Mihoshi…" Washuu was about to say something until she thought about what Mihoshi said. It was all too familiar to her. "That tree… I got some readings of it when it started glowing oddly. It's very reminiscent of the royal trees of Jurai, but then not."  
  
Ayeka stared at Washuu. Tenchi walked in with Azaka and Kamidake. Sasami gasped. "Oh! I had better go make some more snacks!" Then, she disappeared out the door.   
  
Choko looked up from her most recent rice ball and looked to the newcomers. She smiled at them with little bits of rice around her pink lips. "Goo' worning! Goo' worning!" she giggled through a mouthful of rice, crab and seaweed.  
  
Tenchi smiled. "It looks like she is all right!"  
  
"More so than she should be," mumbled Washuu disdainfully.  
  
"What was that, Lady Washuu?"   
  
"Nothing."  
  
Azaka smiled at Choko and took a cup of tea, sipping it carefully. "It's good! It's good, is it not?" said Choko cheerfully.  
  
Kamidake seemed a little reluctant to come any closer for fear of her clutching onto him the way she had before. Especially since she was still naked. Azaka gave Kamidake a cup of tea and smiled. "Drink it, Kamidake. It will do you some good."  
  
Kamidake inclined his head in a respectful manner and took the cup, sipping from it. He smiled then.   
  
Choko looked at him, then she blushed pink on her cheeks and turned to Washuu. She smiled at Washuu. "Good food."  
  
Washuu just stared at her. She was still working out a very complex problem in her head.   
  
Sasami walked in just then with a large tray full of food and another pot of tea and more cups. "Snack time!"  
  
She handed Kamidake and Azaka a rice ball each and then gave Tenchi a cup of tea and a rice ball. "Lady Choko! Would you like another rice ball? I know you must be very hungry still." Sasami said cheerfully.  
  
Choko nodded eagerly and took another rice ball from the tray. As she ate, Azaka smiled at her. "Lady Choko? Is that your name? What a sweet name you have. Child of the Dawn." Then, he patted Choko on her head. Choko giggled and leaned into his hand.  
  
"Well, it looks like it is time for introductions, then," said Tenchi. He smiled at Choko and bowed. "My name is Tenchi Masaki. It's nice to meet you."  
  
Choko blinked at him, then stood up and bowed back o him repeatedly. Tenchi nearly fainted as he watched her naked body move. He grabbed the jacket and pulled it tighter around her. "Erm… you might want to keep this closed, Lady Choko."  
  
Ayeka smiled and bowed to Choko slightly. "I am Princess Ayeka of the Jurai royal family. It is nice to meet you Lady Choko."  
  
Choko gasped and got to her knees and bowed her head to the floor. Everyone stared at her. Kamidake and Azaka seemed the most surprised at her behavior. "That… that is how a knight bows to the royalty," said Kamidake.  
  
"Actually, it is an older style," said Azaka.   
  
Ryoko got up off the floor and picked up a rice ball. "So she's another knight. So what?" She bit into the rice ball and chewed it. "Hey! Nice grub, Sasami!"  
  
Sasami smiled brightly. "Thank you, Ryoko!"  
  
"Ryoko, if we have another knight here, then that means that was a royal tree of Jurai that we found," grumbled Ayeka.   
  
Choko got up off her knees and took another rice ball and ate it eagerly. Ryoko grunted. "Well, whatever she is, she sure eats a lot…." She walked over and ruffled Choko's hair with a sort of amused smile on her face. "Hey, kid. My name is Ryoko.. and don't you forget it. I'm a big nasty space pirate, so don't piss me off!"   
  
Then, Ryoko floated over to Tenchi and giggled and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Tenchi simply sighed and allowed her to do so. Choko smoothed her hair down, putting her arms through the sleeves of the jacket so she could wear it better.   
  
Sasami smiled. "I'm Sasami! It's nice to meet you Choko!" Then, she bowed to Choko as she giggled brightly.  
  
Mihoshi giggled. "My name is Mihoshi and that is Washuu over there! It's so nice to meet you, Miss Choko!"  
  
Azaka and Kamidake both bowed to the floor at the same time to Choko. When they got up and they smiled at her. "I am Azaka and this is Kamidake. We are both knights of the Jurai Royal family. We are here to serve."  
  
Choko blushed pink again and turned away to get a cup of tea. Sasami smiled at her. "We should find some clothes for you to wear, Choko! Come with me!" Then, Sasami took Choko's hand and tugged her out of the room. 


End file.
